Texans’ Johnathan Joseph out vs. Cardinals

Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph said Thursday he didn’t have a setback during his recovery from toe surgery. But the veteran defender doesn’t plan to play Saturday in the Texans’ preseason opener at Arizona.

“I’m just taking it a day at a time, a week at a time,” Joseph said. “Just still working towards getting better, preparing myself for the season.”

Joseph, 30, started 15 games last season (47 tackles, three interceptions) and is the team’s leader in the secondary.

Like middle linebacker Brian Cushing, Joseph understands being healthy for Week 1 is more important than briefly taking the field in a preseason contest.

“At the end of the day, that’s the big picture,” Joseph said. “But obviously you’d like to get your work done through training camp, that way you’re comfortable going into the season. … Just being cautious about; just being smart about it.”